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Can dogs eat durian, the prickly fruit?

section of durian fruit in it's shellCan dogs eat the fruit, Durian?

There is very little online information on this that I can find but apparently yes but in small quantities onlyif the links referenced at the end of this post are accurate. :P

The fruit, Durian

durian - thorny on the outsidedurian - thorny on the outside

The Durian is hard and prickly on the outside. When opened, it can be split into sectional husks that hold it’s seeds covered with creamy, smooth flesh that can be various tones of yellow. (Sydney has a post on the different types of durian here.)

Nutrition

Durian is “high in fat and calorie-dense” though, so it would not the best food for dogs with weight problems. Dogs also can get upset tummies when the food they eat did not agree with them. In serious cases, poisoning can occur. Be aware that the seed of most fruits contain cyanide that is toxic to dogs, so do remove any seeds before feeding a small amount of the flesh of a durian to a dog if you choose to try it out.

Taste Test

I did offer the teeniest bit of it to Donna, and unlike the other fruits I offered to her before, she ate it without the usual licking taste test. So yes, she must like it. She did go into a heavy doze thereafter and I started worrying if I had poisoned her. D: And oh look, does her muzzle look a little swollen? Perhaps she is allergic to it and she was going to have breathing difficulties anytime soon as her muzzle and perhaps her throat swell up. D:

Of course it was pure paranoia. I realised a few days later that there will be occasions when her mouth will look contracted rather than relaxed in a wide grin. One of these occasions will be when she is all tensed up waiting for her toy to be thrown so she can go chase it down. This picture is not a very good example, but it’s the only one I have for now as a visual reference of her mouth when she is slightly more nervous (left) versus the more relaxed wide mouth (right)


See the mouth? She’s more relaxed on the right than on the left. In fact, I wasn’t so used to her with her mouth clammed shut like it is on the left and as recent as two nights ago, I worried if it’s swollen because she was allergic to something!!! Oops… – from: Crate-training for our dog who hates storms, Aug 2.

So there you have it, our durian tasting experience.

Important note

I have to say please do not feed your dog any food that you are not sure about without validating with a reliable source. Just search online and you will find lists of foods that are known to be toxic to dogs, including common human foods like chocolate and raisins. Again make sure the page you are reading is a reliable source.

Durian is not on any of these lists, but I also made sure to get a sense of whether people have fed it safely to dogs before. And I only gave her the teeniest bit because one never knows how she would react to it.

And while she seemed to like it, I think I shall just reserve all the durian for human consumption next time. :P Dogs do not need carbohydrates, so they do not need to eat the durian. She can continue to get some antioxidants from blueberries, minus the fats! :P

References
– Durian: The King of Fruits – Penang, Malaysia
– Dog eating durian?
– Can dogs eat durian
– The nutritional content of durian
– Durian fruit and weight loss

Special thanks to my mother for the durian in the pictures.

Durian, the king of fruits, has a strong smell so it can be pretty hard to transport around. Despite this, my mother decided to bring the two fruits she bought with her to the hospital where she was to have her medical appointment before coming to our flat. Of course when she was there, somebody had to remark on the smell in the pharmacy. And so my mother had to sneak out again, as inconspicuously as she could manage to the open-air areas of the hospital. Once out there, she decided she needed to stash her durians behind some plants so she could go for her medical appointment. She expected it to be gone by the time she returned but lucky her, the hospital cleaners had not detected or removed them.

Durians sold in Singapore are typically imported from Malaysia, but the two she had with her, my mother bought from an old lady at the market who claimed that she just picked it from some durian tree in some forested area locally. We don’t have a lot of forested area, no. And in the old days, people buried the dead in forested areas. :/

I seldom eat food from dubious origins, but since my mother brought it, I dutifully ate every seed of flesh and I’m not dead yet, so good. :P

See also All other posts on Dog Food by weliveinaflat ;)


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32 Comments

  1. Interesting and informative post. Thanks for sharing. Btw, I love durian! :-)

  2. Sounds yummy.
    The big issue in this house is me stealing the toddler’s sultanas.

    • It is yummy :) though it’s a turn off for some people too because of the strong smell. NO stealing the toddler’s sultanas! :D … or the toddler needs to eat it faster, keep it all in the tummy :P Haha!… :P Have a happy day anyways Bodhi, human and the toddler!! Safegaurd those sultanas!

  3. I am not sure doggy can take durian or not? But my doggy cougar like it very much, but not too much!

    • :D I’m reaching the conclusion that dogs do like durian very much but they can only eat it in moderation, because of the fat content if nothing else :) Cougar is a cool name for a dog :) Have a great day Sydney ;)

  4. Oh, Donna, you really had your human a little frightened for a moment there, didn’t you? After that experience I think both of you deserve a little reward, so I present to you the Loyal Reader Award. You can read all about it here: http://thek9harperlee.wordpress.com/2013/08/06/watermelon-weekend-woohoo/. Thank you so much for visiting my blog and for all of your sweet and thoughtful comments!
    P.S. If your human ever decides to share watermelon with you, please be aware that you will poop a little pink (at least if you eat as much as I did) and the tiny white seeds will go straight through you. This kind of alarmed my humans at first. :-)

    • Thank you so much Miss Harper Lee, please to bear with the human as she takes some time to respond! The human is tickled funny by the thought of pink poop!! Donna wishes the human is not so fixated on poop. The other day we stopped and stared at a black cat doing poopy-time. It seems the human is trying to figure out if cat poop is stinkier than dog poop! Humans, go figure…We love reading about all the fun times you have Miss Harper Lee :D Have a good day today!

  5. At least Donna didn’t roll in it!

    • Haha, no she didn’t ;) She doesn’t roll very often actually. Don’t know why. Have a good day weggieboy :)

  6. I heard from my friend who’s working and living in Singapore that Thailand’s durian isn’t popular in Singapore as Singaporean prefer Malaysia’s to Thailand’s.

    Now we also reach the Durian season but I just ate only one. I want to eat it more.

    • Yes, I think we do prefer Malaysia durians… but I’m not particular about whether its D24 or maoshanwang, etc, as long as it tastes good :P And yes, eat more before the season ends…. although also have to go running since its so fattening. Hahaha!!!

  7. I don’t think I would eat that! Woooowoooo, Ku

    • Oh you are so missing out on it Ku. But guess what, Mr P wouldn’t touch it either! You either have a love it or hate it relationship with it ;) I did hear dogs like stinky things… the stinkier the better :P

  8. Very interesting entry Mrs. P and love it! Thanks so much for sharing and for taking part hon. :D Much appreciated. *hugs to you and Donna* xxx

    • Thank you for hosting :) I took it rather straightforward, but it was interesting to see your pictures that blend textures together :) *hugs*

  9. Let Donna know that I am a vegetarian and do very well. Blueberries, yummy–and so good for you.

    • Donna is slowly getting to like her berries, especially if its mixed into yogurt. So you see it takes some convincing :P So I will let her know you are a vegetarian and doing very well Sally :D Have a great day today, lots of freshness, I think that must be a good way to start the day ;)

  10. Durian happens to actually taste like chocolate! I’m probably the only one who believes that, though…

    • Oh yes, I agree that you are probably the only one :P largely because no, durians don’t taste like chocolate! :D Have a good day Sophie ;)

  11. I have never seen that fruit, and I think it’s kind of weird looking. I’m not sure I’d want to eat it, never mind feed it to the dogs! Just kidding….and you made me laugh worrying that you had poisoned Donna. I’ve done that before (thought that I poisoned them, not actually poisoned them!). Years ago I used to feed my dogs grapes before I knew any better, and my dog Maggie loved them! Thank goodness she never had an adverse affect. Now I do look things up before I let the dogs try it.

    • Well, if you hear it from me, it’s supremely yummy. If you hear it from my husband, he’ll advise you to stay away from it :P

      But yes, I do sometimes suffer from bouts of paranoia when it comes to Donna, maybe because it’s only been 7 months and this is our first dog :P I hope I get wiser and better at this as I go along, but I sure am glad I’m not the only one. Thank you for taking the time to share about your similar past experience :D I do appreciate it!

      And I have also heard from my neighbour his dog stole chocolate and ate it but appeared to be fine. So if the dosage is low enough and the dog is not too small to make a small dosage relatively big enough to impact them and cause them to vomit, or diarrhea continuously, then they may be lucky enough to be fine! I’m glad Maggie enjoyed her grapes without harm done to her :)

      Have a great day with your family Janet :)

  12. Ooh! That sounds yummy! And Donna you are very naughty making your hoomans all worried like that!
    Piggy kisses,
    Poppy and Clover
    Xxxxxxxx

    • Considering she was just minding her own business sleeping, Donna is probably inclined to think the human is making a mountain out of a molehill :P And it is yummy :D Mongrel kisses for Poppy and Clover!!! :P

  13. Awesome photo!

  14. I have heard Durian is really stinky…sounds like a fabulous dog treat to me! :)

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